Legend of the Mountain, the classic martial arts film written and directed by King Hu, is coming to American cinemas in a definitive 4K director’s cut edition, clocking in at three hours. The film’s U.S. release will begin in February at the Metrograph theater in New York City, and showings will take place in select U.S. cities. Check out the trailer below:

King Hu’s wuxia masterpiece Legend of the Mountain opens February 2, 2018 at Metrograph in NYC on a new 4K restoration by the Taiwan Film Institute. It will tour select cities before being released on Blu-ray and DVD later in the year.

“Hu, a master of the wuxia swordplay subgenre of martial arts cinema, is perhaps best known for Come Drink with Me, Dragon Gate Inn, and A Touch of Zen. For his late-period Legend of the Mountain, Hu turned instead to a supernatural fable set during the 11th-century Sung Dynasty, drawing upon Pu Songling’s classic 18th-century collection Stories from a Chinese Studio and filming independently on location in the South Korean countryside. A scholar-errant, tasked with translating and safeguarding a Buddhist sutra involving the afterlife, loses his grasp of space and time as he wanders through a strange, haunting mountain landscape. Along the way, he encounters temptress ghosts and Taoist priests, ancient abandoned fortresses and inns, and a delirium of color, sound, and silence.” – Museum of Modern Art New 4K restoration by the Taiwan Film Institute.

A press release from August provides more the details on the release:

We are thrilled to reveal that Eureka! have collaborated with US distributor, Kino Lorber to acquire all rights for UK, Ireland and North America, from the Taiwan Film Institute for King Hu’s LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN.

Presented in a new 4K digital restoration, the three-hour director’s cut of King Hu’s Legend of the Mountain received its debut at the Venice Film Festival. Hu, a master of the wuxia swordplay subgenre of martial arts cinema, is perhaps best known for COME DRINK WITH ME, DRAGON INN, and A TOUCH OF ZEN. For his late-period Legend of the Mountain, Hu turned instead to a supernatural fable set during the 11th-century Sung Dynasty, drawing upon Pu Songling’s classic 18th-century collection Stories from a Chinese Studio and filming independently on location in the South Korean countryside.

Ruth Schofield, Managing Director for Eureka Entertainment commented “We are delighted to have acquired the rights for the UK and US for this wonderful film and to have the chance to work again with The Taiwan Film Institute. This has developed into an opportunity to collaborate with Kino Lorber, who will be releasing the film in the USA, and hope this is will be the start of an ongoing relationship between our two companies, to work together on other titles in the future.”

“We are proud to bring to North American audiences such an exquisite film, so beautifully restored by the Taiwan Film Institute,” said Bret Wood, V.P. and executive in charge of restorations at Kino Lorber, “The Eureka brand is a hallmark of quality, and we look forward to cultivating other opportunities for collaboration”

LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN will be screened at festivals (UK & Ireland) in 2017 and will be released as part of Eureka’s Award-winning The Masters of Cinema Series in 2018, joining two previously released King Hu titles, DRAGON INN and A TOUCH OF ZEN. In North America, the film will receive theatrical play dates in select cities, followed by a 2018 home video release, coinciding with Eureka’s Masters of Cinema release.

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(Last Updated November 4, 2017 12:28 pm )

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